Frozen confection apparatus



Feb- 26, l952 c. ERICKSON ETAL FROZEN CONFECTION APPARATUS will.

ICK PELLMAN INVESTORS .vmw ATTORNEY.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 CHARLES ERICKSON W NW6 A Y 2lb dm a un IA v ll \mm-J m, mm l E Feb. 26, 1952 c. ERICKSON ETAL FROZEN CONFECTION APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20, 1950 CHARLES ERICKSON ANDERICK SPELLMAN JNVENTORS:

QM ATTORNEY Feb- 26, 1952 c. ERICKSON ETAL FROZEN CONFECTION APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 20, 1950 u Ollldlllrlnnlnnllllllllilllllnnllllllll n INVENTORS: BY ZEW ATTORNEY.

Patented F eb. 26, 1952 S PATENT GFFICE FROZEN CONFECTION APPARATUS Charles Erickson and ErickllSpellinan, New YorkN. Y.

Application July'20, 1950, Serial'No; 174,974

(ill. 259-10) 16 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatusy for freezing confections, ice creams, custards and the like, and particularly to such apparatus including means for' positively producing a pressure' upon theco'ntents of the apparatus and even introducing. air.v and providing whatis. termed gain in theart.v y '.,The main objectof our invention is to facili.- tate introducing the prepared fluid mix into the machine' under pressure' and feeding it toward the discharge end of the machine.

Another object isgto' include in a machine of the'indicated character', a nuid driving pump 'simultaneously operated with the scraper shaft or dasherof the machine.

A further object is to. include on a machine of thel mentioned type, a pump mounted on the machine for' receiving'the fluid'mix used and secured to the rear plateof the'freezing cylinder and directlyv driven by the scraper shaft which extends' therethrough.

It is, of course avv practical object to include in the construction of such a freezing machine the fluid pump` as already indicated in such a convenient 'and' yet unobtrusivev position that the-presence of the pump in no way. impedes` use or operationof themachine, but instead greatly improves smooth deliveryiof the frozen product from the discharging end thereof.V

A further practicalobjectis to have a. machine of the mentioned character upon which theipump may befbuilt into the freezing cylinder or exteriorlythereOf. while still functioning according to the same-principles in either position.

Other objects vand advantages of ourr invention willfa-ppear in 'further detail as the specification proceeds.

, Thiswapplication is a continuation in part of our. abandoned application Serial No'. 146,742, filed February 28, 1950.

In. order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention. fora proper appreciation` of the salient-'features thereof, the invention is illustrated on. the. accompanying drawings forming part hereof,andin which :v y y Figure. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of an apparatus for freezing c ustard and ice creams andv provided withA a .pump built into the freezing cylinder thereof. and embodying our invention in a practical form; v

`Figure 2: is. a. vertical central .section of the pump-l casingfof the machine shown in Figure: 1;

Q Figures an. elevation of'gthe same; pum

2 the rear portion of a modification of the machineshown inliigure. 1

Figure. 5 is an elevation of the pump alone of Figure 4. as taken on line 5 5;

liigure 6 is another fragmentary vertical section of. the rear portion of a further modification of. the machine of Figure l while resembling the latter more than in the case of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a. vertica'lcross section of the ma.- chine. of Figure 6 as taken online 1'-1;

FigureS Vis a rear elevation of the main pump casing or block with. its. gears as seenA from the right in Figure 6'; and

Figure 9 is a horizontal section of the same pump casing and gears4 as taken on line' 9 9' in Figurez.

Throughout the views, the same reference numerals indicate. the same or like parts.

lnmachines for freezing various uid or semifiuid mixturesfor making. ice creams, frozen custards andi malted milk and the like, a freezing cylinder is commonly used together witha drive shaft extending through the cylinder axially and carrying Scrapers or knives, the mixture being poured or introduced at or adjacent to one end. of the cylinder, while the other end is provided with a dispensing plate through which the frozen material is delivered: However, sometimes the` frozen material is rather hard and not easily propelled forward from the rear end from which the mixi .is intended to be moved toward and'A through the dispensing plate or head at the other end ofthe cylinder. Thus, the feeding ofthe freezing mixture is more or less sluggishy and uncertain, and presents a problem.

Upon` considering this problem, it has occurred to us that the material being introduced into the apparatus should be positively propelled by means of a pump operated by the scraper shaft and forcing the materialforward and thus denitely expeliing it through the dispensing head. As a. resulty we have succeeded in combining a positively driven pump with a confection freezing apparatus in a very eective manner, as will be explained in det-ail in the following.

Hence, in the practice of our invention, the confection freezing apparatus embodying the invention in a preferred form primarily includes a Vfreezing cylinder 'l surrounded by a tubular freezing coil 8 with the ends 9 and l0 thereof adapted to be connected to aY powered refrigeration unit of known construction (notshown). At the' en'dsfthe cylinderI 'l terminates on'- asupporting frarnef I3' having the corner posts I4, I5. etc.. The space about the refrigeratingv coil'Y 8 is filled with insulating material I6 such as rock wool, asbestos and the like, and a sheet metal cover I1 encloses the latter material and prevents loss or displacement thereof.

Upon the front flange I| is removably mounted a dispensing head or plate I8 held in position by means of a group of manually releasable screws i9, |9 or the like, while in similar fashion a rear plate 29 is releasably secured to the rear flange I2 by means of a second group of hand screws 2| (one shown). In the rear plate is a central bearing 22 for rotatably supporting the rear reduced end 23 of a scraper shaft 24 which carries various Scrapers or knives 25, 26, a paddle beater 21, and several propelling blades 28, 29, 39, as well as a front dispensing propeller 3|, the Scrapers being supported on arms 32 to 31 mounted rigidly upon shaft 24. The forward end 38 of the latter shaft is reduced in diameter and finds a supporting bearing in the projecting nose 39 of front dispensing head |8.

In the dispensing head is a forwardly inclined outlet port 46 controlled by a vertically shiftable sliding shutter 4| capable of being raised to open position as indicated in broken lines, while beneath the resulting spout 42 is mounted la short chute for directing the frozen condiment into a vessel placed beneath the chute for receiving it. The details of the machine thus far may be varied and more or less conventional,' and per se forms no actual part of the invention when taken alone. The rear end 23 of the scraper shaft is bifurcated or.otherwise formed to engage with the projecting shaft 44 of the drive mechanism (not shown) with casing 45 mounted upon motor 45 which in turn is supported on frame I3 and drives shaft 44. Due to its construction, shaft end 23 may be withdrawn through bearing 22 when the front dispensing head is rst removed for cleaning the interior of the cylinder and the shaft as a whole.

Upon vthe inner side of rear plate is re- -movably secured a gear pump casing 41 having an auxiliary bearing 48 for the reduced rear 4portion of the scraper shaft, a pinion 49 being keyed by a key 56 slidably engaging in keyway 5| in said shaft to rotate positively with the latter. Above the pinion is rotatably supported a gear 52 within the gear casing 41 and in mesh with the pinion, the gear stub shaft 53 serving to center the gear for smooth running in the casing. The rear plate 28 serves as part of the pump or gear casing by forming the rear wall thereof. While the pump gears 49 and 52 thus serve to pump fluid when the scraper shaft rotates by the drive of motor 46 in more or less conventional manner, the casing 52 is provided -with a delivery port 54 directed into the cyl- Vinder, and an inlet port 55 directed rearwardly upward. The upper portion 56 of rear plate 29 is enlarged and provided with a large bore 51 communicating with port 55 and receiving vthe small inclined end 58 of a supply hopper or funnel 59 into which uid mixture to be frozen may be poured for introduction into the machine. A pin 66 on tube ts in a slot 6| in member 56 to prevent accidental rotation of the funnel or hopper.

At substantially the same level with delivery port 54 in casing 52 is an air escape port 62 which allows excess air to 'pass out through the gear rpump and Vescape through upper port 63 in rear `plate 20. Also, to allow excess pressure built up within the cylinder to escape, a valve 64 in valve p seat 65 inV casing 52 more directly communicates through the casing with outlet port 63 in the rear plate. The mentioned port or passage 62 forms no criterion of the air movement, as the valve 64 is more important and prevents excess air being worked into the freezing mass within the cylinder. Spring 66 closes valve 64.

The net result of the construction described is that when fluid ice cream or custard mixture is poured into the funnel 59, the motor started so that scraper shaft 24 rotates at intended speed, the mixture will be fed positively through the pump by gears 49 and 52 into the cylinder 8, and assuming that the latter is already full of freezing mixture of cream or custard. the contents will be subjected to pressure, thus rforcing'the contents toward the front dispensing head. The air outlet port 63 serves to allow air mixed or trapped with the mixture being poured in from the funnel to escape before reaching the pump gears, in addition to liberating air from valve 64. As key 58 readily slides out of keyway 5I in shaft end 23, the shaft may be withdrawn from the pump and both bearings 22 and 48. As double ended screws 61 (one shown in Figure 2) normally secure casing 52 to the gear plate 20, release of these screws will free the casing from the rear plate when the latter has first been released from rear flange I2 of cylinder 8, and allows the gears to be taken out and all parts washed.

Two features of the invention may readily be modified, namely, the location of the pump and also the actual form of the pump used. For example, the pump, while intended to be associated with the supply of the iuid mix introduced into the machine, and preferably exteriorly of the rear plate when desired, may be a gear pump or some other rotary type of pump, one such pump of more or less conventional design being shown in Figures 4 and 5. In this'case, the rear plate 68 has an external pump casing 69 removably secured thereto by screws .10, 19, the plate itself being held to rear flange I2 by hand screws 2|, 2|. Plate 68 has a main bearing 1| for the rear Vreduced portion 12 of the scraper shaft which is similar to the eccentric rotor V14 tending therethrough to introduce into the cylin'- der the uid mix pumped by rotor 14, a downwardly and inwardly inclined inlet passage 83 in casing 69 communicating with chamber 11 vfrom the outside. `The reduced lower inclined end 84 of funnel 85 fits in the upper bore 86 in tubular extension 81 upon the casing 69 and thus connects' with the pump through passage 83 in such manner as to supply the mixture poured into the funnel lto the pump. As the latter is positively driven by shaft 12, which is, of course driven as described in connection with shaft 24, 5 I, the iiuid mixture introduced by the pump will be fed into the cylinder under pressure.

The pump casing, rotor and'rear plate form an assembly Ain which each part may be removed from the rest and all parts readily cleaned. Although plate 68 provides a bearing 1| for shaft portion 12, the pump casing also has a further bearing 88 for the shaft when the pump V'is -assembled. l

As shown in Figures 6 to 9,' a further modifica.-

rar' plate 89 with tlfescraper or' d'a'sher shaft' 90' p` rojectingl by its'r rear `reduced portion" 9 |v roi tata'bly therethrough and` adaptedA to'A be Acon# nected to' afrezzr drive' asl-'in the case' of' thema? chine in Figure 1; The' rear' plate' is'i hield by' hands'crews 2| toI they rear flange |`2 of4 freezing' cylinder and has a bossKI 92 forming` the 'rear bearing of the shaft portion' 9|, while within the' cylinder ismunted'a pump casingy 931'" Thisfca'sl ing ishel'dto the rear platey by means'of apa'ir of threaded studsI 91,3, 95 extending?throughith'e rear plate and secured by 'a' pair of wing"nuts""(not' shownif in moreV or less obvious manner;v

In-'pump casing 93is` a' rotatablejpumpgearA scraperv shaft 90 andpositively rotated therewith by' a# removable key 97. .eesecondpurnp'gearcnfI pinion 98 is also rotatable* in the same pumpl casing by meshing With-gear 96, the'shortcentralf studw99 rigid with gear '98' retaining the latterirr smooth centeredrunning position BothV` gears' are. of course removable, which Vis likewise true' of the-pumpcasingand the scraper shaft forcleaning thereof.'V y n y f Downwardly through the upper portionfof-rear machine plate89 extendsa taperedpassage |0 intor` the upper end rof whichV fits a removable'funnel' |02 ofthe like for receiving ice cream or frozen custard mixture from ai large containery (not shown); Upon the inn'erside of the'rear plate, the descending passageY lli-I extends through vthe surface in the*y form of anaperture I 03 that-connects-directly withfthe? upper inta-ke passage me in-the-pump casing''whi'ch feeds? the descending mixture from funnel |02 to the gears 96 and'9'8 ofthe pump. Fromfthese gears vextendsa'downward feeding passage H15"V in pump casing 93 communicatingv with horizontal'Vv bottom passage f |06 opening into thecylinder chamber |01.

If -the machine completely" assembled andl mixture to be frozen is poured into funnel or cup |02, andthe machine operated by the drive asl illustrated in Figure-'1, the mixture will be fed` down through the pump casingpassages to bot'- tom passage |06 and thence into the cylinder chamber |01, providing a positive feed for they mixture through the freezing cylinder.-

In order to allow air to escape from the mixture during operation if trapped to excess Within the' g chamber |07, atop groove or passage |il8`is` Wev are, of course not limited to thesper'iiflc`v forms of pumps shown, as4 rotary pumps of many types are known and may serve for thepresent purpose.v It is likewise true that a pump for the type of machine outlined hereabove may be located upon the inside or upon the outside of the rear head or end of the freezing cylinder and may even be built into the rear head in a manner differing from what has been described above.

Manifestly, variations may thus be resorted to and parts and features may be modified further or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described our invention, we claim:

1. A positive feed confection freezing apparaiii i head'or" plate at the'oth'er end of saidcylir'id ,Y head navragen inlet port extending," therethrough' thi. thfe interior' of the cyl'irider,' a", pump casing mountedupon' and secured tothe' said rear tu riding ai free' rife, cylinder.' eerifeefijni dispensing 'er'id upon. the cylinder, a, fluid fuffn'l or hopprdre'ctly I'utdfupb an Secured to' another portion `of'y thefcyliridr and" .cclY muiiic'atrgv With'th interior theieffa sapef shaft rotatably mounted iii saidfcylin'cier," and' af pump'secured'to the apparatus 'and driven' by'said4 Scraper shaft al'd effective to deliver teliic mixfrm said funnel" or h'op'p'er under pressure' tothe interior ofsaidcy'linder.

23A' positive' feedv confection feeding apppar'"L tus includinga freezing cylinder,` a' c1'i'fe'ic`tirrdis`V pensinghea'dat one' e'nd of the cylinder. 'a r rear heard and' communicating with the inlet port,v meanrsfor supplyingl'jiuidv mixture'tof be frozen to'theA pump casing',v a' scraper shaft' rotatably' mountedin 'said cylinderymeans for drivin'.f,f*saidV sie" rapi-r` shaft, vpumpr elements movably located 'in saidpump casing and' internally driven by said' scraper shaft, and releasablemeans 'holdingsaid' v 3i Apositive feed confection freezing apparaf, tusai:fcordin'g'y to claim'2, wherein the pump`cas'` ing ifs mounted directly upon thev innerside' of the rear' head within" the cylinder"` and' the" rear headv has a passageitherethrough for receiving the fiuid mix.tobefro'zenthroughsaid head `and coriducting `itfto saidpump casing."

'Aj positive'feed` confection freezingapparatusi accordingto lc"1a'imj 2,jwherein the pump" casingj isA rncuntedl directly upon thje "exterior vof the'r'ejar."

head 'and' the latter isremovably secured'upon' the rear endI of' thecylinder. e

55A positive feed `confection' freezingappara?k tus according'f tofclaim 2, "wh erein' both 'the' rear head and'thefpump A casing 'eachha's'a 'bearing' for th'erearen'dof the scraper'shaft.'

A6.r Apositivev fe'edconfection freezing appara@- tus according to 'claim l2, kwherein the rear head forms 'oneisi'de ofthe vpump Vcasing `and thepump casing proper is/'directly mounted 'on the rear head in effective position; to Aco-oi'nerate' with 'said rear head' to- `form'ia` rcompletev pump casing therewith.'

7. Ajpositive feed `confection freezing apparatus vaccording tc i1aim"`2;wheren the'meansfpr supplying the .fluid 'mix to be 'frozen' 'comprise' a L funnelf or hopperf mounted' 'directly on' 'thejrearj head -and communicating the cointe' ntsf'tiiereofjt'A the pump'v casing alsoA mounted onjsaid refa1 'r"he'adt 8f A 'posit e" feed 'confection' 'freezing ailiifra.

tus "aceerdngfte' clarin, Q,"Whereia 'the' means reify supplying'` the iiuidY mix tobe Yfrozen comprises ai:

funnel or hoppervmeunted upon the 'pump' casing directly and supported by the latter. l

9. A'positive feed confecten freezing'ap'1g-parta;e(V WS' ,ineludiee e .reezins ,Cylinder hai/ ine .e d.i. pensingnheadiat one end thereof, a rear headV meueteduponhe other end 0f the .wund-er. the

latter having an A inlet port extending there through to the interior of the cylinder, a scraper shaft rotatably mounted in said cylinder, a bearing in said rear head for the rear portion of said scraper shaft, a pump casing removably secured directly upon the exterior of the rear head with the latter head forming one side of the pump casing, a second bearing for the rear portion of said scraper shaft upon said pump casing, pump elements within said pump casing internally driven directly by said scraper shaft for pumping uid mix to be frozen into said cylinder under pressure,

means for driving said scraper shaft, and means for supplying the fluid mix to said pump casing.

10. A confection freezing apparatus including a freezing cylinder having a dispensing head at one end and a rear head at the other end, a pump supported directly upon the rear head and communicating with interior of the cylinder,

a scraper shaft rotatable in the latter, means for driving said scraper shaft, means for supplying fluid mix to be frozen to the pump casing, and at least one pump element in said casing directly connected to and driven by said shaft.

11. A positive feed confection freezing apparatus, including a hollow freezing cylinder; a frozen confection discharging end plate upon one portion of the cylinder; a fluid mix intake funnel or cup directly mounted upon another portion of the, cylinder and communicating with the interior thereof; a scraper shaft axially mounted for rotation with respect to said cylinder; means for driving said scraper shaft; a pump casing removably mounted upon and directly connected to said cylinder' and having an intake passage communicating with said funnel or Cup and an outlet passage opening into the interior of said cylinder; and at least one movable pump element located in said pump casing in communication with said intake and outlet passages, said pump element being disposed in effective contact with said scraper shaft to be directly driven thereby upon rotation of said scraper shaft.

12. A positive feed confection freezing apparatus, including a hollow freezing cylinder; a frozen confection discharging means upon one portion of the cylinder; a scraper shaft axially mounted for rotation in said cylinder; means for driving the scraper shaft; a pump casing removably mounted upon .and directly connected to another portion of said cylinder and having at least one bearing for rotatably supporting a portion of said scraper shaft; pump elements operably located in said pump casing, one pump element being in effective contact with and sur-y rounding said scraper shaft to be driven directly thereby upon rotation vof said shaft; said pump casing having an intake passage leading to the pump elements within it and a discharge passage leading from said pump elements to the interior of said cylinder; and a fluid mix funnel or cup directly mounted upon said apparatus land communicating through said intake passage in said pump casing with said pump elements.

13. A positive feed confection freezing apparatus, including a hollow freezing cylinder; a frozen confection discharging end upon one portion of the cylinder; a scraper shaft rotatably mounted in the cylinder; means for driving the scraper shaft; a two-part pump casing removably mounted upon and directly connected to another portion of said cylinder and having at least one bearing for rotatably supporting a por- I tion of said scraper shaft; pump elements operably located in said two-part pump casing with one pump element' operably connected to and surrounding said scraper shaft so as to be driven directly thereby upon rotation of said scraper shaft, said pump casing having one part thereof exposed to the interior of said cylinder and said pump casing having an intake passage leading to the pump elements Within it and an outlet passage leading from said pump elements to the interior of said cylinder; and a fluid mix funnel or cup mounted directly upon said apparatus communicating with the interior of said pump casing through the intake passage therein.

14. A pump feed confection freezing apparatus, including a hollow freezing cylinder; a frozen confection discharging end upon one portion of the cylinder; a scraper shaft rotatably mounted in said cylinder; means for driving said scraper shaft; a rear end plate upon another portion of said cylinder having a bearingrotatably supporting one portion of said scraper shaft; a pump casing located within said cylinder directly upon the inner side of the rear end plate so as to be exposed tothe interior of said cylinder and also having an additional bearing for supporting said one portion of said scraper shaft; pump means operable Within said pump casing and positively connected internally to said scraper shaft so as to be operated thereby upon rotation of said scraper shaft, a portion of said rear end plate having an intake passage leading from the exterior to the pump means within it and said pump casing having a discharging passage leading from said pump means within the casing to the interior of said cylinder; and a mix receiving cup located directly upon said rear end plate and communicating with the intake passage therein.

15. A pump feed confection freezing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the rear end plate has an air aperture through the wall thereof from an intermediate portion of the in- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the.

file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,054,835 Routh v Sept. 22, 1936 2,191,344 Erickson et al Feb. 20, 1940 2,211,387'

ROuth Sept. 13, 1940 

